Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing at Roxborough Memorial Hospital School of Nursing

At $81,336 in first-year earnings, Roxborough Memorial's nursing program outperforms 95% of similar nursing certificate programs nationally and ranks in the 80th percentile among Pennsylvania schools—impressive positioning for a hospital-based diploma program. With just $20,000 in median debt, graduates face a highly manageable debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.25, meaning they could theoretically pay off their loans in three months of gross earnings. This compares favorably to both the national median debt of $23,562 and Pennsylvania's $24,761, making it one of the more affordable pathways into nursing in the state.

However, the small sample size here matters. With fewer than 30 graduates in the dataset, these numbers could shift significantly with just a few outlier cases. The program trails only Penn (which includes graduate nursing degrees inflating that figure) and St. Luke's among Pennsylvania hospital schools, suggesting this strong performance may be replicable but deserves verification. Nearly half of students receive Pell grants, indicating good accessibility for lower-income families.

For parents whose child is committed to nursing, this represents an efficient entry point into a stable profession—minimal debt, strong immediate earnings, and outcomes that exceed most alternatives. Just recognize you're looking at limited data, so connecting with recent graduates to confirm these numbers hold true would be wise.